A Real-Life Fantasy
by TheSpookster
Summary: "All the cages looked the same. All the buildings looked the same. The zoo never ended. Why did he take up Kumatora's dare?" (Lucas' story throughout Subspace Emissary. Slight headcanon. Some MOTHER 3 spoilers!)
1. Prolouge

**I'm alive!**

 **Okay, over the past however-many months, I have been reliving my love for Super Smash Bros., specifically Brawl, and wanted to write something about it. I also have just recently gotten into the MOTHER series (I won't be calling it Earthbound). MOTHER 3, to be specific. (wow, I have to be really specific)**

 **The reasoning behind writing this is pretty complex, so feel free to skip it if ya just want to read.**

 **Anyway, my friends and I were watching the Subspace Emissary cutscenes and where trying to figure out when during MOTHER 3 it took place (which was really stupid of us, but whatever). My friend thought it happened after Claus died, while I thought it took place between chapters 3 and 4, since Lucas was still a wimp. Welp, we found holes in our theory, obviously (Lucas pulled the Needle and the world was ?, Lucas stayed by Hinawa's grave all three years. And, besides, the Ruined Zoo is and area in MOTHER 1.) But, then, I great idea sparked in my mind. What if this _did_ take place after Lucas pulled the last needle? The Dragon was either going to save the world or destroy it, so, maybe, before this new world is created, Lucas has a dream, kinda like the one in chapter 6, where he lives his own fantasy. What if Subspace Emissary is all of the Nintendo characters fantasies? (I know the more plausible theories, too, but this is an elaborate excuse to write about one of my favorite video games and maybe a little bit of shameful OTP)**

 **Okay, I'm done rambling. I'll try to be more consistent with updating this, as it's fresh on my mind, but school's starting so I may not be crazy-consistent.**

 **(whatever i'm sure this'll suck hrrrrmmm)**

 **...**

* * *

 _Are we all just a figment of someone's imagination? Or are we just a figment of our own imagination?_

 _ **The time has come to pull the final needle.**_

 _Much has been sacrificed to get this far…_

 _ **The Dragon shall inherit the heart of the one who pulls the needles...**_

 _Don't be scared…_

 _ **The Dragon stirs…**_

Lucas started to pull the final needle.

It was, at first, pretty difficult to think about happy thoughts and the like after just watching his friends almost get killed, his dad suffer mortal injuries, and his brother commit suicide, but the boy knew he had to do. As he pulled the last needle, he cast a glance at his friends. Kumatora gave him a thumbs up. Duster waved at him. Boney gave a small bark. His dad nodded slowly as he held Claus' broken body.

 _My friends…_

The world became a blur.

* * *

"Hurry up, ya slowpokes!" Kumatora yelled behind her. The tomboyish princess ran down a narrow dirt path winding through a thick forest. Boney, who was usually the fastest, followed at her heels, but was panting heavily. ( _I hope you know what you're doing, Kuma_ )

Lucas lagged behind, waiting for Duster.

"I dunno what got Kuma's attention," Duster began, out of breath. "But whatever it is, it better be good!"

"Don't worry, Duster. I don't think Boney has even run this fast before." Lucas coaxed.

"She's too rash for me…" Duster sighed. "She's the one who got us lost in the first place."

"Where's Mapson when you need him?" Lucas moaned.

"C'MON GUYS!" Kumatora hollered.

Duster and Lucas exchanged annoyed looks. "Coming…" they said in unison.

* * *

"Woah,"

"Now you know,"

The four were standing in a large clearing, outside of the forest. A large metal gate stood in front of them, wide open, almost in a taunting manner. A metal fence ran from either sides of the gate ran down as far as the eye could see. Inside the gate seemed to be cage-like enclosures, but rusting and falling apart. Any normal person would've called the place "eerie". On the other hand, Kumatora called it "AWESOME!"

Boney whimpered. ( _If I were a betting dog, I'd say that used to be a zoo_ )

"It looks pretty spooky," Duster mused. "It's probably been abandoned for a long time."

Lucas was silent. He could feel the air catch its breath.

"What? You scared, Lucas?" Kumatora asked playfully.

"Huh? Am not!" Lucas yelled, balling up his fists.

"Here we go again…" Duster said extremely softly.

Kumatora huffed. "Then I dare you to go into that zoo, pick up some sort of artifact, and come back out here to show us."

"What?! No!" Lucas said, becoming very flustered.

"Aww… someone's a little scardy-cat!"

"Am not!"

"Are, too!"

"Am not!"

"Are, too!"

"Bark!" ( _I don't like cats_ )

"See, even Boney doesn't like you right now. You better face your fears, young Lucas!" Kumatora began to chant.

"Then why don't you go in there, Kuma?" Duster asked.

Kumatora shot a glare at Duster. "Oh, you know I would. But I'm asking Lucas. Not myself."

Duster shrugged. "It's Lucas' choice…"

Lucas felt three pairs of eyes staring at him.

 _I've been in a situation like this before…_

 _ **Wait. Why were we in this forest in the first place?!**_

 _Claus. I won't be scared. I'll show you I'm not scared._

 _ **None of this is real!**_

 _I'll show you how brave I am!_

 _ **Is it all a dream?**_

 _..._

Lucas approached the gates.

"I'm going in, guys."

Boney and Duster stared at Lucas in shock while Kumatora screeched in delight.

"Good luck, Lucas! Stand up to your fears like a boss!"

 _I'm not going to look back._

 _ **STOP!**_

Lucas walked through the ruined zoo gates…

* * *

 **I hope no one was too out of character...**

 **(btw, the bold and italics is Lucas' conscience)**


	2. The Chase

**Another chapter. Woooooooo.**

 **I forgot to say in my intro that I don't own Nintendo or MOTHER. If I did, I'd become a Pigmask.**

* * *

It didn't take long for Lucas to become lost.

He kept the "Don't look back" mindset until he literally couldn't look back.

All the cages looked the same. All the buildings looked the same. The zoo never ended. Why did he take up Kumatora's dare?

Every now and then, Lucas swore he heard an eerie howling noise, but the noise would disappear as soon as it was produced. Litter and pamphlets were strewn across the pavement. Lucas kicked a can as he walked on its cracked surface.

"…what am I even doing…" he thought out loud.

As Lucas thought on, he realized, _what was he doing_? He had completely forgotten what Kumatora wanted him to do, what the four of them were doing in the forest, or any fabric of past that had happened prior to exploring the forest.

Finally, Lucas looked back.

"..wha-"

It was raining… purple fluff. Lucas rubbed his eyes. Yes, it was little fluffy balls of the color purple.

As they fell to the ground, they collected together into a vaguely humanoid shape. It rose up from the ground, revealing a knight-like creature wish a black face and long arms. As more were produced, they walked towards Lucas in a zombie-like fashion, making odd, gargling sounds as they approached the young boy.

Lucas shivered. What were they? He was about to turn around and run when…

 _ **CRASH!**_

 _Memories…_

Lucas looked up in horror.

The giant Porky statue was always intimidating, but without Kumtora, Duster, and Boney by his side, Lucas felt even meeker.

The statue hadn't changed since Lucas and his friends battled it in New Pork City, but one change was that Lucas had no New Years Eve bombs to counter it and make defeating it a breeze.

All he could do was run.

Buildings and cages became a blur of black and grey. Lucas had no idea where he was going. Everything became an obstacle. Lucas leapt over large wooden boxes, while the statue crushed them like they were toothpicks. At one point, Lucas ran into a building that "conveniently" had switches that opened large doors in front of him. If he hadn't been the least bit nimble, he would've been smashed by the mindless statue.

He finally exited the building, but with the Porky statue still on his tail. A few more of the knight-like monsters materialized next to him, but he ignored them and kept running as the statue crushed them.

"Huff… huff," Lucas moaned. ( _I can't take this any longer! I have no chance of escape… no chance of winning…_ )

" _C'mon! Ya can't let him win!_ " a determined voice whispered from his left.

Lucas looked around quickly. Was that his imagination?

" _That stupid pig's nothing compared to you, lil' bro!_ " Again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucas thought he saw a blur of orange hair, a familiar striped shirt, a face… t-that… looked just like his own…

"Ack!" he yelped. Lucas fell to the ground with a thud. The boy glanced behind him to see that he had tripped over a vine protruding from the cement.

"No. No no no no no," he mumbled, shaking. Lucas tried to crawl out from under it, but his foot was caught very snuggly.

The Porky statue was nearing him at an increased pace. In just a few moments, Lucas would become a Lu-pancake.

He turned back around and buried his face in his hands. ( _Here it comes…_ )

"PK THUNDER!"

An explosion shook the world.

As Lucas lifted his head, he was half hoping it was Kumatora that saved him, as PK Thunder was one of the many moves she used in battle. But… the voice… it sounded… a lot more like a child's… like his own voice…

The Porky statue fell on the ground with a large thud. No damage was done to it, from what Lucas could observe, but the statue wasn't getting up in a few seconds.

Lucas' attention was suddenly directed to a figure that landed in front of him.

The boy had raven-black hair, most of it hidden behind a red and blue baseball cap. He had a yellow and blue striped shirt that looked much like Lucas'. He also had a rather large backpack on his back. His red shoes sparked with energy.

An odd sensation passed over Lucas as he stared at the boy. He could feel a strong psychic pulse radiate from him. He only ever felt it whenever he was around Kumatora or… his brother.

"You okay?" the boy asked, turning around. A purple tint gleamed in his eyes.

Lucas was still speechless.

"I'm Ness, by the way," the boy began. "I saw that statue chasing you, so of course I had to help! Wow, you have PSI powers, too? Even better! I think we'll be great friends!"

Ness shot statements and questions at Lucas at a thousand miles an hour. He was still trying to get over the fact he wasn't dead.

A shaking noise echoed in front of them.

Ness spun around and sighed. "Well, I gotta do what I've gotta do." He almost sounded sad.

He glared at the struggling statue. "YA WANNA GO?" Ness shouted. Suddenly, in a blur, the raven-haired boy jumped into the sky. The statue got onto its feet and also jumped.

Lucas looked up in shock. Ness and the Porky statue were hovering in midair!

"PK FLASH!" yelled Ness. His body became enveloped in a green light and hurled the energy at the statue. The statue's body glowed for a bit, and then…

 _ **KABOOM!**_

Lucas covered his ears and face. When he looked back up, rocks and debris were littered around him. Ness slid next to him in a battle stance.

"Get ready," was all Ness said.

Lucas was not prepared for the next sight…

Crawling out from the dust and debris was Porky's Spider Mech, with the very person inside of it. Looking at Porky again made Lucas feel a million different emotions.

 _He destroyed my family… He tore us apart… yet I can't hurt him…_

 _ **It's not the same Porky! It's just a messed-up product of revenge!**_

 _How is this possible? He was in the Absolutely Safe Capsule…_

 _ **It's trying to toy with your mind! Deny it, or what is to come will tear you apart!**_

Ness brushed some dust off his cap. "Porky… So this is where you've been…"

Porky, surprisingly, didn't say anything. Lucas was preparing to hear one of his elaborate speeches, but didn't hear one.

The Mech crawled closer, preparing to fire a beam.

Ness sighed a quiet "I'm sorry…" and turned and offered his hand to Lucas. "Let's fight together, 'kay?"

Lucas was silent for a moment. He was still extremely confused, but, if he and Ness could work together and defeat Porky, than they could work together and get home.

He took Ness' hand. "Y-Yeah!"

Ness smiled. "Alright!" He pulled Lucas up to his feet.

Then they charged.

* * *

 **VS Porky next! I hope I write it well.**

 **(lel, I like how the picture for this story has Lucas and PKMN Trainer, yet PKMN Trainer will not come in until a few chapters in. I dunno, I thought it was funny)**

 **One more thing, the Claus hallucination Lucas had: I spun that off the fact that in Subspace (during the Porky statue chase), if you're doing two player mode, the second player will use the alternate skin for Lucas, which is Claus' color scheme. THE MORE YOU KNOW and reference.**


	3. Vs The Pig King

**Here I am again. Sorry about how late I am!**

 **I probably would've completely forgotten about this story if it wasn't for me looking through my flashdrive in biology class today. I totally forgot how much I wanted to write this! So here's the Porky fight, with a few too many headcanons surrounding how Lucas and Ness can use their PSI abilities and use telepathy.**

 **yeah and i'm nesscas trash be forewarned. It's not really gonna be romantic, just fluff.**

 **I should mention Earthbound Wiki/Wikibound were open during this entire chapter. I am not confident in my MOTHER knowledge. I've beaten MOTHER 3, am close to beating MOTHER 1, but I haven't even left Onett in MOTHER 2. Yeah... yeah... this is a SSBB story, K?**

 **I don't own these people. They are Nintendo people.**

* * *

 _Well, this was an unconventional fight._

Lucas knew that as soon as the battle against Porky started. Almost as soon as Ness pulled the blonde-haired boy up, he immediately ran at the giant spider mech leaving Lucas to stumble in the dust.

"PK Fire!" Ness yelled. He shot a pillar of psychic fire at Porky, similar to when Kumatora used the attack. The pillar of fire continued to burn where Ness hit the robot. Lucas couldn't decipher what level of PK Fire it was, but it seemed to be doing hearty damage to the Pig King.

Porky still was silent. Lucas was scared enough at the fact the person who murdered most of his family was standing in front of him, but, without Porky's constant mocking and commentary on their fight, the young psychic felt as if he was being mocked and teased by another force.

Ness and Porky were at it for a while before Lucas remembered he could think. Ness was so graceful and accurate when he attacked the robot. Every attack hit on-point. He would sometimes direct his PK Thunder into himself and crash into Porky with immense energy. Whenever the robot fired a laser at the raven-haired boy, he would skillfully use his PSI Magnet to absorb the laser.

 _Wait…_

Since when could a PSI Magnet do that?

Lucas's only memories of the PSI Magnet were from when Kumatora would use it against psychic enemies. The attack would absorb the enemies' power away, but not their attacks. It was usually Lucas who would initiate barriers, Kumatora would be mainly offensive, Duster would use his Thief Tools, and Boney would throw whatever bombs he had. But Kumatora, Duster, and Boney weren't with him now. All he had was Ness, whose attacks seemed to be getting more and more lax. Every time the cap-wearing boy would glance at Porky, Lucas could see a twinge of sadness and resistance in his violet eyes.

"Hey!" Ness yelled, interrupting Lucas's thoughts. "Can you help me, please?"

"Oh… uh… yeah… Sorry!" Lucas called back. What a dope he was. Ness and Porky had been fighting for about five minutes and Lucas hadn't moved since the battle began.

Ness looked at him from afar, but Lucas could see curiosity dancing in his eyes. "What can you do?" he asked as he tripped up the robot with his yo-yo ( _did he have that a second before?)_

Lucas had to restrain himself from getting mesmerized from Ness's now physical attacks. _What could he do?_ He was mainly trained in defensive moves… besides PK Love.

 **PK LOVE Ω!** Lucas thought, expecting the familiar hexagonal shapes to erupt around him and crash onto Porky.

But nothing happened.

Ness opened his mouth, about to say something, but was quickly cut off by Porky unleashing a barrage of attacks on him.

Lucas continued to mentally force himself to use random psychic attacks. **HEALING β! OFFENSE UP Ω! PSI SHEILD Ω! PSI COUNTER α!** Nothing happened.

"Lucas!" Ness croaked.

Lucas was called to attention at the sound of his name. Ness was busy absorbing another laser being shot by Porky.

Ness glanced at Lucas and began to talk. "Mine don't work either… try and use the moves your friend uses… or… at least… something in your pocket… AGGH-" He was cut off when one of the robots legs swung and smacked Ness across the ground.

Lucas's mind was racing faster than a Muttshroom. _How did Ness know my name? I never told him… and… what does he mean about use the moves my friend uses? Does he mean Kumatora's attacks?_

Lucas shook himself back to reality. Ness was standing right in front of him, getting tossed around by Porky, and Lucas was standing idly by. He had to help.

The blonde-haired boy closed his eyes and imagined Kumatora yelling "PK FREEZE Ω!" to a helpless Pigmask.

Almost immediately, a blast of frozen energy erupted from Lucas's body. He willed it to glide over to Porky's mech and shattered his thoughts. The icy blast exploded, incasing the robot's legs in ice, trapping it. Ness rolled aside and ran back to Lucas.

"Woah! Lucas! You can use PK Freeze!" Ness gaped. "I can't even use that! That was so cool! No pun intended, heh. But, anyways, I should mention, the power level that you use your PK attacks doesn't matter. They all do the same damage. And, using your PSI attacks don't drain your power points! But don't use the same attack over and over again, because it'll do less damage. Uh-oh, look out. Mr. Pig is thawing out." And with that, Ness grabbed Lucas' hand and jumped out of the way as a laser touched down where they had stood.

Lucas felt a jolt of energy course through his arm as he and Ness touched down. Ness turned and smiled at the still flabbergasted Lucas. "Ready to fight together?"

Lucas nodded and softly said a "Yeah."

Ness laughed. "Good. Then let's make him into pork chops!"

He let go of Lucas's hand and fired off a PK Fire, Lucas doing likewise. Unlike Ness's PK Fire, Lucas's didn't linger as long, but pushed the robot backwards a little.

Ness sprinted up close to the robot, punching it with psychic energy. Lucas also attempted so, feeling the power of PK Love in his veins. As he punched and kicked at the large robot, the purple and yellow hexagons swarmed and damaged the enemy. Just like Ness said, every time he used a PSI-related attack, Lucas didn't feel drained.

He felt determined.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Porky's mech began to falter and wobble after a heavy beating of PK Thunder. Ness ran behind it and, taking out a baseball bat, charged and swung at the hunk of sparking metal. Porky and his robot began to sizzle and sparkle with green electricity until it exploded.

Porky still hadn't made a sound.

Lucas and Ness were quiet for a second, looking over the vacant lot that was now in front of them. Not even those purple-knight creatures were to be seen.

Ness fixed his cap and sighed. "That was weird."

Lucas couldn't agree more. "Yeah."

Ness continued. "Seeing my 'best friend' all bent up in a giant robot can only be classified as weird."

"Y-Yeah," Lucas stuttered.

Ness looked at Lucas and studied him. "You're probably wondering how I knew your name, Lucas."

"Y-Yeah."

Ness giggled. "Heh, is that all you can say, Luke? Well, I don't blame ya. Anyway, since we're both psychics, I can share a sorta empathy link with you. I heard your name. I could also hear you struggling to use your PSI attacks. The exact same thing happened to me when I got here. None of my PSI attacks would work. But PK Flash, Fire, and Thunder did for some reason. So I guess the same happened to you."

Lucas was silent for a moment. Ness was so eerily similar to him.

Ness cleared his throat. "How about we walk and talk, Luke. That way we can get out of this place."

"Okay…" Lucas said.

The two boys began to walk through the ruined zoo. Walking with Ness didn't change the fact that it still went on forever.

"How'd you end up here?" Ness asked.

Lucas sighed, kicked a crumpled pamphlet across the ground. "I was walking through the forest with my friends, and they dared me to go in here."

Ness stopped suddenly. "Woah, Luke. Exact same thing happened to me. Except we were trying to get Jeff to go in here… but I went in instead."

Lucas turned to meet the raven-haired boy's eyes. "That's… so coincidental…"

Ness was silent as he studied Lucas again.

 _Oh, jeez, I hope I'm not blushing…_

Lucas had noticed that Ness had been studying him a lot ever since they met. He had no idea what it meant, or how Ness could read his thoughts through this seemingly random "empathy link".

Ness finally shook his head, as if shaking off a thought. "I don't know Luke. There's just something about you… I can't explain what… but, I have a feeling, we were destined to meet."

Lucas nodded and looked down at the pavement. "H-Hey Ness…"

"Yeah?"

"How'd you read my mind? Can I do it, too?"

Ness thought about it for a second. "Hmmm… well… I'm going to try something, so don't get weirded out, Luke."

Ness began to walk towards the blonde-haired boy, and, in doing so, stood inches from his face.

Lucas began to sweat. _Whaaaaa-_

Suddenly, Ness leaned his forehead against Lucas's and a jolt of electricity was sent through Lucas's body.

 _ **Hey Lucas.**_

Lucas suddenly backed away and landed on the ground with a bump.

Ness began to laugh. "I'm guessing you heard me."

"Ah-I-yes-wait," Lucas stuttered.

Ness continued to laugh. "Heh, you're cute when you're flustered, Luke! Don't take that in the wrong way. Telepathy can take a little getting used to." He offered his hand to Lucas, who reluctantly took it. Ness pulled him to his feet.

"Anyways, let's put that aside. We should focus on getting out of here. How about it?" Ness asked, letting go of his hand.

"That sounds like a good idea," Lucas said quietly.

Ness lifted his hand and ruffled Lucas's silky blonde hair. "That's the spirit, Luke! C'mon, I want to hear about your weird psychic friends! Then, I'll tell you about mine! We can talk about all our adventures"

Lucas smiled. Ness sure was odd, but he seemed like a great friend.

The two walked down the midway of the zoo, laughing like the best of friends.

* * *

 **Rushed Nesscas is rushed. maybe**

 **Next: Lucas and Ness talk a lot. And Wario finally comes. And maybe a certain Pokemon Trainer.**


End file.
